1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrically insulative boots for substantially covering conductive connector housings and, in particular, conductive connector housings with a plug skirt and/or a receptacle skirt.
2. Description of Related Art
Electrical connectors of the type having an exposed conductive metallic body are widely used, for instance, in the computer industry. In many applications, it is often desirable to generally enclose and electrically insulate such connectors to protect a user from shocks or worse without forming a waterproof or airtight seal around emerging terminal contacts. Many different insulating connector enclosures of this type have been commercially produced.
However, prior to this invention, electrically insulative boots have not been available for substantially covering conductive connector housings with mateable tubular conductive plug skirts and tubular conductive receptacle skirts. In particular, such a boot has not been available that (1) adequately electrically insulated the plug skirt and receptacle skirt of mateable connectors before they are connected together, (2) remained adequately electrically insulated after being mated together with the plug skirt and receptacle skirt of the mated connector assemblies immediately adjacent to one another, and (3) adequately electrically insulated the plug skirt and receptacle skirt after the mated connectors were disconnected from one another. Although such boots were not available, there was and is a need for such electrically insulative boots.
The invention satisfies this need which will be clear from the following description.